Game of Strategy Using Trading Cards or Other Tokens

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method includes generating a plurality of playing cards, each playing card having a unique identifying code and one or more attributes; distributing the plurality of playing cards to a plurality of players, each player receiving at least one playing card; receiving electronic information relating to a playing card&#39;s unique identifying code from one or more of the players; and maintaining an online data registry relating to each trading card for which electronic information has been received. Maintaining the data registry may include tracking the one or more attributes (e.g., monetary value, strategic value, current owner) associated with each playing card. The data registry may be updated by modifying one or more attributes associated with a playing card in response to receiving information indicating a change in status of the card.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/895,389, filed on Mar. 16, 2007, andentitled “Game of Strategy Using Trading Cards or Other Token”, theentire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The following disclosure pertains generally to games that combine chanceand strategy and, more particularly, to a novel method by which TradingCards (equivalently, playing cards) which are uniquely identified bymeans of a code or other device, can be registered on a database orregistry and thereby validated as being “active” and able to be used inthe Internet or connected network form of a strategy game or to trackeach Card within a player's or collector's collection and the attributesconnected to that Card regardless of changes in ownership of that Cardfor any reason.

Trading Cards are a well-known form of commercial collectable product,typically resembling conventional playing cards but featuring famous,historical or notorious persons or objects such as sports persons, motorvehicles, famous race horses and other historical or public figures orobjects or events rather than denominations or suits.

Enthusiasts typically collect and trade Cards to make up “sets” beingall or substantially all the Cards identified as being in a particularseries. Such Cards are typically sold through retail game stores andother specialty outlets and traded between enthusiasts. Enthusiaststypically collect, collate and trade Cards in order to acquire Cards notalready in their collection or which they wish to duplicate forstrategic purposes where the collector is also a player of games whichuse those Cards.

SUMMARY

Trading Cards which are capable of being registered and thereby used toplay strategy games via the Internet or connected network can be createdand made available to enthusiasts. Each Card can depict a particularsubject, narrative about that subject and/or bear a unique identifyingcode or mark which is capable of being scanned and thereby registered ona central database or registry. Trading Cards may be single sided ordouble sided and may bear a mix of graphical information and textualinformation.

One feature of such Cards may be the inclusion of a machine-readableunique code on each Card, enabling each Card to be identified by thatcode rather than the graphical or textual information on it.

A form of Trading Card game which can include strategy in addition tochance, can use Trading Cards which, if used in accordance with therules of that game, would enable a player to form a unique combinationof components that can compete against the combinations of otherplayers. These Cards may be played physically, or as “virtual” Cards inan internet or connected network game.

Trading cards can also be used to represent certain persons and theirattributes; by way of example, historical military leaders or figuresgenerally credited with particular acumen or skill in conductingbattles. These battles can have happened at any time whether recently ormany hundreds of years ago or may re-enact historically recorded battlesusing different “armies” or introduce other variables to the attributesof the armies' commanders and the strategies adopted by them in theactual battle being re-enacted.

Players can assemble sets of these Cards: a set which would typicallyinclude a Card of a particular military leader and other cards depictingsubordinates and other cards depicting historically appropriate weapons,soldiers and armaments for that particular military leader's army orhistorical period. By way of example, a player could assemble a Romanarmy headed by a nominated Roman commander. Another player couldassemble an army from another historical time such as Napoleon's army.

By registering their cards, these players could pitch their respectivearmies against each other, notwithstanding the historical differencebetween the armies. The respective players' collection of Cards—whichmakes up their army for the particular game—represents a variety ofattributes, things and people and each Card's unique attributes.

By having each card bear a unique identifying code or mark, thatparticular card can be registered as belonging to a particular playerand no other and can be recognized as such in a computer based game.

By maintaining a central registry of trading cards and each card'sowner, the registry may be updated at any time should a particulartrading card be transferred to another player or new attributes acquiredin the course of game play. In the case of a traded or transferred Card,the acquiring player can scan the card and thereby amend the centralregistry to show the change of ownership and also transfer the attachedattributes as recorded in the central database or registry. Should thatplayer in time dispose of a trading card, any attributes acquired orlost during that player's ownership, will in turn be passed on to thenext acquiring player or collector and so on.

Trading cards have varying monetary values depending upon the popularityof the subject matter depicted on the card, the relative scarcity of theparticular card or its relative value in a game where variouscollectable cards have certain pre-defined attributes in the game'srules. By uniquely identifying each Card, attaching attributes toparticular Cards and thereby differentiating Cards which otherwisedepict the same image or subject matter, the value of a particularTrading Card can be increased or decreased: this enhances the trading ofthe physical Cards as well as affecting any particular Card's value togame players in the Internet version of a game.

In one form, a game using such cards may include two or more players.The game components include rules of play and the various game elements;by way of example, Trading Cards. The Trading Cards are freely tradableamong the players so that each player obtains and constructs their ownset of game elements and thereby competes against the sets of gameelements assembled by other players.

The game can also include a method for tracking each Trading Card'svariable attributes and ownership so that players can know anyparticular Card's attributes and strategic value in a game therebyaffecting that Card's monetary value as a collectable and also itsstrategic value as a game element.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the gameelements comprise physical Cards. Each Card depicts a particular subjectmatter and also bears a unique code, meaning that otherwise identicalCards are in fact not identical because each is identified by its uniquecode which attaches that Card to the related data in the database orregistry. That data includes ownership and attribute details which forma part of that Card.

In an implementation, the game includes rules of play which determinethe way each Card may be played and the consequences so as to result ina winner of the game through strategic use of Cards to “attack” and“defend” or “counter-attack” to simulate the strategies of physicalbattles and the likely consequences of those strategies and related gameelements being utilized in the particular circumstances of that game.

As an example, a player with a collection of Cards depicting, by way ofexample, a Roman army, may play a game against another player who has,by way of example, a collection of Cards depicting a Chinese army,notwithstanding that this would not have been possible in the real worldas they were not contemporaneous. Similarly, a player who has an armymade up of imaginary, fictional or fantasy characters or derived fromscenarios such as science fiction or fantasy fiction, can stage battleswith other players who have collections of historically based armies.

Ranges of collectable Trading Cards within a common motif or theme canbe made available to players and enthusiasts through retail and otherdistribution channels. Players can build their collections by purchase,conquest or trade with other players and collectors.

Players register themselves on the database or registry and acquire aunique code which the player may choose to keep secret. Quoting thatcode may be a prerequisite for access to the database or registryrelating to the player and to the Cards that player posses or acquireswhether by way of purchase, conquest, trade or otherwise.

When a Card changes ownership or attributes, the database or registrymay be amended thus: the player holding the Card scans it with anappropriate electronic device such as digital camera, mobile phonecamera, bar-code scanner or other technological device whereby theunique code is “read” and that data transmitted to the database orregistry. That data is added to the existing data relating to the Cardwith that unique code and thereby becomes part of that Card albeit inthe form of data stored in a remote computer system. Entry of data,amendment of data and access to the data generally is controlled by eachplayer having a password or code which identifies that player uniquely.

In another implementation, a player may, by selecting and playing Cardsin a particular sequence, choose appropriate game assets to attack theother player's army or fend off the attack of another player. The choiceof Cards, the sequence in which they are deployed are player determined.The range of Cards available to be played in that game at thatparticular time may be determined by luck, if the choice of Cards foreach player is determined by random selection instead of consciouschoice, or by the player pre-selecting the range of game assets to bedeployed in that game based on that player's assessment of the battlescenario.

In another implementation, players who win more games than they lose canadd attributes to the Cards they have collected and attach thoseattributes by amending the relevant Card's database or registry entry.This is achieved by scanning the Card by use of a digital camera orother appropriate device.

The disclosed cards and method of use provide a game that can be playedin many game formats, including hand-holdable physical Cards, virtualCards, other physical objects which are not physically comparable tonormal playing cards but which are capable of carrying an image andassociated information and the unique code, electronic games, computersoftware, interactive networks, board games, and the like.

Typically the game is fast-paced and a high level of strategy andknowledge will reward a player, but the game is capable of being adaptedto permit players of all levels of skill and ability to participate andfor individual players to add value to Cards in their collection bybeing successful in playing against other players and then recordingthose attributes on the database or registry.

Attributes may also be acquired or “earned” by participating in andcontributing to a knowledge database created by contributions by playersvia connection to the Internet. This database would typically containhistorically accurate or useful information about battles, commandersand strategies which would be of use to other players. Players whocontribute to the database could be rewarded by being awarded new orunusual attributes to add to their choice of Card or game asset, therebyincreasing that Card or game asset's strategic and monetary value.

The game, through the use of a unique code associated to each Carddistributed, combined with a central database or registry in which eachCard's attributes and ownership are recorded, gives a game player theunique ability to modify the attributes of a Card notwithstanding thatit depicts the same image or property as similar looking Cards held byother players.

It further gives the player the ability to adapt their game components,enabling them to pitting players against each other in a battle ofstrategic skill. The game further includes the unique feature ofcomponents that have a tradable and a collectable status above andbeyond mere relative scarcity in the market. In other words, certainCards can become more valuable as they acquire more attributes in theirattached central database or registry and thus become more useful ingame play and therefore more valuable to players generally, thusencouraging players to trade and collect game components.

Furthermore, the game permits players to acquire their own collection ofgame assets and to enhance their attributes as registered in thedatabase or registry in an effort to obtain competitive advantage aspermitted by the game's rules and the provisions and availability ofeach component, as well as the player's skill in choosing gamecomponents prior to and during play.

In one implementation, a computer-implemented method includes generatinga plurality of playing cards, each playing card having a uniqueidentifying code and one or more attributes; distributing the pluralityof playing cards to a plurality of players, each player receiving atleast one playing card; receiving electronic information relating to aplaying card's unique identifying code from one or more of the players;and maintaining an online data registry relating to each trading cardfor which electronic information has been received. Maintaining the dataregistry may include tracking the one or more attributes (e.g., monetaryvalue, strategic value, current owner) associated with each playing cardand updating the data registry accordingly. The data registry may beupdated by modifying one or more attributes associated with a playingcard in response to receiving information indicating a change in statusof the card.

The playing cards may be physical entities in which case distribution isachieved via physical distribution channels. Alternatively, or inaddition, the playing cards may be virtual entities in which casedistribution is achieved via electronic distribution channels.

In addition, a knowledge database containing complementary informationrelating to subject matters of one or more of the playing cards may bemaintained and used to supplement either game play or information in thedata registry or both.

In another implementation, a playing card system includes a plurality ofplaying cards, each playing card having indicia of subject matter, and amachine readable code uniquely identifying the playing card from amongall other playing cards having identical indicia of subject matter; andan online data registry configured to track information about eachuniquely identified playing card.

The online data registry may be configured to track one or moreattributes of each uniquely identified playing card. The one or moreattributes include a current owner of the playing card and/or a value ofthe playing card, such as a strategic value or a monetary value or both.

The playing card system may further include rules of play that encompassinstructions on execution of each player's turn and a predetermined waythat cards may be used or played, a quantity of cards permitted to eachplayer at the start of the game, and a hand of cards available to eachplayer.

The rules of play may further specify a method of playing a gameincluding one or more of the following: assembling an individualcollection of cards from a totality of cards and offer to the public bypurchasing cards or acquiring from players or both; using a uniqueidentifying number or insignia on each card to register each card to arespective player in the online data registry and thereby identify thatcard as being part of the player's collection; constructing a playingcollection of cards from a player's total pool of cards, theconstructing being achieve by the player selecting individual cards withwhich the player elects to play in that game; increasing options foreach selection of a playing collection of a predetermined number ofcards by the player acquiring additional cards with new or additionalattributes and adding these acquired additional cards to the player'sregistered collection of cards; and applying any attributes attached toa particular card in order to secure a strategic advantage in accordancewith rules of the game.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and fromthe claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a trading card in the form of a playing cardbearing a form of unique code that identifies that Card uniquely amongstthe many Cards bearing a similar image or subject matter held by playersand collectors generally.

FIG. 2. is a flow chart of a method for tracking trading cardattributes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure pertains to a method by which trading cards,which may be acquired by any suitable means, may be scanned andregistered by the relevant player in order to use that card to play agame for two or more players wherein the players may apply theattributes or characters embodied in any registered trading card, in agame played on the Internet or other connected network.

Each player collects and assembles a variety of cards which represent achosen commander and the components of that commander's “army” to wage avirtual war with the other players, which involves careful pre-gameselection of cards so as to create a particular combination ofattributes and then plays against other players each of whom has theirown

FIG. 1 shows an example of a trading card in the form of a playing card100 bearing a form of unique code 102 that identifies that card 100uniquely among one or more other cards bearing a similar or identicalimage or subject matter held by players and collectors generally. Inother words, two or more collectors could have versions of this card 100that appear otherwise identical but are uniquely identifiable (andtrackable in a database) by virtue of their respective, and different,unique codes 102. In this example, the card 100 includes indicia ofsubject matter 106, such as shown an image of a military commander alongwith related information 104 (which might instead be included as part ofthe indicia of subject matter 106). Although the unique code 102 shownin this example is a standard bar code, virtually any other type ofsuitable machine readable code (e.g., two-dimensional matrix code or thelike) could be used instead.

An owner of the card 100 can register it with a central database, forexample, by scanning the unique code 102 (e.g., using a digital scanner,digital camera, cell phone camera or other suitable optical capturemechanism) and then uploading (e.g., online using an Internet web form,via text or SMS message or other cell phone data transmission, viaemail, or the like) the scanned image (and/or information descriptive ofthe scanned unique code 102) to a central database or other registry ordata repository. Each unique card can have a set of one or more defaultattributes which typically would be the same as or similar to thedefault attributes of other cards bearing the same or similar personagesor other subject matter. Subsequently, through game play or otherwise(e.g., card trading, payment of money, other user input or actions,passage of time, external events, etc.) attributes of each individualcard 100 can be modified and tracked via the central database.Consequently, each card becomes unique unto itself over time and thuswill attain certain values (monetary, strategic or otherwise) and/orother attributes that differ from other cards bearing the samepersonages or subject matter. In addition, changes in ownership of acard can be tracked using the database.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a method of tracking attributes ofindividual playing cards. At 200, a plurality of playing cards isgenerated. Each playing card has a unique identifying code (e.g., barcode) and one or more associated attributes (e.g., monetary or strategicvalue, current owner). The cards can either be real, physical entities(e.g., standard playing cards made of cardboard or plastic tokens) orvirtual entities (e.g., electronic objects distributed throughelectronic channels such as telecommunications or data networks). Ineither case, the cards are distributed via an appropriate channel (202).

A player who receives such a card may scan its bar code or other uniquecode and upload the information to a central, online registry (e.g., anonline database or other data repository). This information is receivedat the central registry (204) and used to maintain in the online dataregistry information about each card for which electronic informationwas received (206). Upon detecting (e.g., based on newly uploadedinformation from a player) a change in a card's status (e.g., change inattribute value) at 208, the data registry is updated by modifying oneor more attributes for that card (210).

The present game is directed not only to the method of registering thetrading cards, but also to the method of playing the game and the meansof generating revenue from same for the party hosting the Internetversion of the game and creating Trading Cards capable of being utilizedin this way.

The method of play can be expanded to include a winner taking one ormore of the loser's Cards at the end of a game or game set ortournament. For instance, the complete collection of cards in anycomplete set may number hundreds of individual Cards, each with a uniquecode, thus making them uncommon. Some Cards will have restrictedpublication and distribution, making those Cards rare. The basic natureof each Card defines the limits to the additional attributes that thatkind of Card may acquire. For example, the rules of the relevant gamecould provide that a General in a war-game would have a wider anddifferent range of attributes to a Sergeant or a Private in that game.

Other cards will have virtually unlimited distribution, rendering themcommon. Players obtain cards by purchasing them at retail outlets,trading them with other players, or winning them as ante or prizes atgames and tournaments.

In one implementation, a party may act as “host” of the database orregistry and maintain that data which player access via the use of theirunique code, through the Internet or other connected network. Thatregistry host may or may not also control which Trading Cards which maybe registered on the database or registry.

That party may or may not also conduct the means by which these gamesmay be conducted by Internet or other connected network. This mayinvolve a charge or cost to each player for (by way of example only):

-   -   the right to access the database or registry    -   the right register as a Card owner and to secure a unique player        code    -   the right to play games on the hosts service    -   the right to access, use or consume any other goods or services        the host wishes to provide to players and enthusiasts.

It is to be understood that the game components or assets can takedifferent forms. For instance, in one version of the game, thecomponents are hand-held Cards similar in physical specification to aregular playing card. In another version of the game, Cards are plastictokens or shapes bearing graphical and textual data and that Card'sunique code. In another form of the game, the players interact with eachother via a computer network, with the game components visuallydisplayed on the monitor. Hence, the foregoing game, including thetradable aspects thereof, are not to be limited to the embodimentsdescribed herein.

In another version of the game, each player acquires digital versions orrepresentations of Cards (“Virtual Cards”), thereby enabling players toplay other players by using their collection of Virtual Cards on acomputer or other electronic device. Provided each such Virtual Card isregistered to the relevant player. Once registered, each player may playagainst other players, alter the database or registry relating to thatCard and trade the Card with the attributes attached, thereby augmentingits strategic and monetary value.

This also applies to the method of playing the game. In one form, thegame involves each player acquiring Cards and utilizing them and acombination of them to play the relevant game; for example to engagewith a strategy game such as battle, with any other player or multipleplayers subject to the applicable rules of the game.

Furthermore, play can be accomplished between a player and an artificialintelligence or simulated opponent such as a computer, or expanded topermit multiple players to play simultaneously in accordance with thegame's rules. While the fundamental rules of play apply in multi-playerand tournament games, modifications can be made as necessary toaccommodate the needs of the game and the wishes and intentions of theapplicable players or the hosting party.

Another potential feature is the ability to modify the strategic andcommercial value of any Card or game component by adapting and alteringthe Card's database and attributes. This facility also enables the hostto generate revenue by charging players for additional attributes,auctioning attributes, offering attributes as prizes and enablingplayers to participate in activities whereby the players can create,nominate or request new or amended attributes in order to increase aCard's strategic or monetary value.

The nature of Trading Cards which both carry information on their faceas well as having a range of attributes accessible to the owner viaauthorized access to the database or registry, gives them a collectiblenature. This encourages players to trade for more powerful Cards and tocomplete a set of Cards for game playing as well as collecting purposes.

However, some players are reluctant to play with collectible cards forfear of damage or loss. Hence, an unlimited version of the game can bemade available strictly for playing purposes.

In accordance with an implementation, the game is played by two playersin which Cards in each player's playing collection represent soldiersand weapons at a player's disposal. In playing the game, each playerwould wage a campaign using the soldiers and weapons chosen or randomlyselected to be in that player's playing collection, against anopponent's playing collection in a battle, with the winner taking onerandom Card to keep from the loser's playing collection. Over time, eachplayer's playing collection will fluctuate in size and individual Cardsmay be won and ownership registered by amending the database orregistry. A player may endeavor to compensate for losses or weaknessesby winning Cards through other games and bartering for Cards betweengames with other players.

The methods described here can be used on existing and readily availableelectronic devices, such as computers, mobile telephones, video games,electronic games and on interactive networks utilizing computer softwareand text. Such electronic devices can visually display the Cards andenable players to select the cards and execute turns as describedhereinabove. Commercially available electronic communication devices canalso be provided to enable players to communicate with each other overlong distances.

Another version of the game can be played using a playing board. Thisboard has pathways on it divided into segments or territories in whichthe players move in accordance with the rules of the relevant game.

A number of implementations have been described. These and otherimplementations are within the scope of the following claims.

1. A computer-implemented method comprising: generating a plurality ofplaying cards, each playing card having a unique identifying code andone or more associated attributes; distributing the plurality of playingcards to a plurality of players, each player receiving at least oneplaying card; receiving electronic information relating to a playingcard's unique identifying code from one or more of the players; andmaintaining an online data registry relating to each playing card forwhich electronic information has been received.
 2. The method of claim 1in which maintaining the data registry comprises tracking the one ormore attributes associated with each playing card.
 3. The method ofclaim 2 further comprising updating the data registry by modifying oneor more attributes associated with a playing card in response toreceiving information indicating a change in status of the playing card.4. The method of claim 2 wherein the one or more attributes include acurrent owner of the playing card.
 5. The method of claim 2 wherein theone or more attributes include a value of the playing card.
 6. Themethod of claim 5 wherein the value of a playing card comprises astrategic value or a monetary value or both.
 7. The method of claim 1wherein one or more of the playing cards are physical entities andwherein distribution is achieved via physical distribution channels. 8.The method of claim 1 wherein one or more of the playing cards arevirtual entities and wherein distribution is achieved via electronicdistribution channels.
 9. The method of claim 1 further comprisingmaintaining a knowledge database containing complementary informationrelating to subject matters of one or more of the playing cards.
 10. Aplaying card system comprising: a plurality of playing cards, eachplaying card having indicia of subject matter, and a machine readablecode uniquely identifying the playing card from among all other playingcards having identical indicia of subject matter; and an online dataregistry configured to track information about each uniquely identifiedplaying card.
 11. The system of claim 10 wherein the online dataregistry is configured to track one or more attributes of each uniquelyidentified playing card.
 12. The system of claim 11 wherein the one ormore attributes include a current owner of the playing card.
 13. Thesystem of claim 11 wherein the one or more attributes include a value ofthe playing card.
 14. The system of claim 13 wherein the value of aplaying card includes a strategic value or a monetary value or both. 15.The system of claim 10 further comprising rules of play that encompassinstructions on execution of each player's turn and a predetermined waythat cards may be used or played, a quantity of cards permitted to eachplayer at the start of the game, and a hand of cards available to eachplayer.
 16. The system of claim 15 wherein the rules of play furthercomprise a method of playing a game including one or more of thefollowing: assembling an individual collection of cards from a totalityof cards and offer to the public by purchasing cards or acquiring fromplayers or both; using a unique identifying number or insignia on eachcard to register each card to a respective player in the online dataregistry and thereby identify that card as being part of the player'scollection; constructing a playing collection of cards from a player'stotal pool of cards, the constructing being achieve by the playerselecting individual cards with which the player elects to play in thatgame; increasing options for each selection of a playing collection of apredetermined number of cards by the player acquiring additional cardswith new or additional attributes and adding these acquired additionalcards to the player's registered collection of cards; and applying anyattributes attached to a particular card in order to secure a strategicadvantage in accordance with rules of the game.